New Year, More Words

Maybe it’s to finally get that writing project finished, come up with fresh ideas or experiment with something new.

Maybe it’s simply to write more and see what happens.

Whatever your dream, there are lots of ways to get down the words you desire this year in a way that fits in with your lifestyle.

Connect with your writing

If you’re starting something new, don’t be afraid of the blank page. Think of it as an opportunity. Fill those pages, even if what comes out isn’t great at first. The words can always be edited later. The most important thing is to connect with what you’re trying to write by getting into it. Inspiration comes when your pen is moving, not when it’s in the drawer.

If you’re part-way through a writing project, take the opportunity to reconnect with it now we’re into the New Year. Take stock of where you are and where you want to go. Remember why you started, why this is important to you. Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve had to spend time apart. Simply recommit and move on.

Going forward, try to write a little most days to stay connected to what you’re writing. If you’re short on time, take a few moments to re-read what you wrote last, jot down a few ideas, capture the bones of what’s next or jot down a paragraph. It’s these little, regular connections that will keep your story fresh in your mind in between fuller writing session. It’ll keep your mind ‘writing’ when you’re away from your mission whether you’re at work, walking about or even washing the dishes.

Think of your writing as your friend. Have a cup of tea with your characters and your ideas often. Dream. Go on adventures together.

Bypass your inner-procrastinator

If you’re finding it a challenge to get started, you may find Mel Robbins’ #fivesecondrule is the kick-into-action you need. Check out the simple but effective technique here. I hope it’s as effective for you as it’s been for me.

You could also trick your inner procrastinator by telling it you’ll just write for 15 minutes or you’ll just get down a paragraph or two and see where it leads. By the time you’ve got there, there’s a good chance you’ll be in the flow and in the mood to keep writing.

Enhance creativity through journalling

If you want a sense of progress, and to make a sense of where you’re going with your writing, keeping a writing journal is brilliant. It allows you to explore your ideas, experiment and air your frustrations.

The best thing about a journal is that it won’t judge you, criticise you or tell you what to do. It’ll just help you make progress by giving you space to discover a little more about yourself and your writing every day. Plus, it’s so satisfying to look back to old pages and realise how far you’ve come.

Write more with paper and pen

Many of us are chained to our screens these days. We can end up using them for everything, including our writing. But sometimes, if an idea’s just not coming, or progress seems blocked, switching to pen and a notebook, or even a piece of paper, could unleash your creativity.

It’s amazing how the free space of a page can open you up. You can write wherever you want, in any direction. You can scribble all over your thoughts and connect ideas in a way that’s trickier on screen. You can spread all the pages around the room too, giving perspective.

Putting pen to paper is also a great way of warming up for a writing session. Even if you’re doodling on the page, you’re getting your writing muscle moving and ready to take action.

Indulge in writing flings

Have you ever felt fed up of your writing project or like giving up entirely? The problem might not be your project. It might be that you’ve spent too much time together and so you just can’t see a way forward.

In this situation, consider what will recharge your creative batteries and reignite you. Maybe it’s a walk outside, tea with a writing friend or a trip somewhere you’ve never been.

You could also try dabbling with other writing tasks on the side. Doing this enables you to keep writing but applying it in other ways, allowing you to return to your main project with perspective at a later time. Poetry or flash fiction is particularly great for this as you can write a variety of things alongside your writing project, not just when you’ve hit a wall, keeping you fresh and stimulating new ideas.

Flash fiction is something I really got into after taking part in the ‘Fantastic Flashing’ course from Retreat West recently. I was given a host of visual prompts and inspiring words which I return to when I want to create something new. Some have even led to fresh angles for my novel.

Enjoy a diet of great reads

Reading is excellent for keeping you inspired. Great books, poetry, screenplays, or whatever you read, are the ultimate writing teachers. Read works that inspire you to write great things, content that will inform you, pages that will stimulate your thinking.

I love Francine Prose’s guidance around ‘reading closely’ in her book Reading Like a Writer. It’ll help you get more out of each reading experience.

Don’t be put off if your ‘to read’ list turns into a tower. And, never feel obliged to read something. Reading should feed your writing not be an obligation or chore.

If you have time to indulge in long reading sessions, that’s amazing. But, if your schedule is hectic, the thing to remember is it’s reading little and often that’s key to your development as a writer. Consider fitting it in during your commute, while you’re tucking into a sandwich or last thing at night. And, if you’re always on the move, audio books could be perfect for you.

The bonus is, the reading diet is delicious!

I hope some of these ideas will get your writing flowing this year. I’d love to hear how you get on and, if you have any tips and tricks of your own for writing more, why not share them in the comments? Let’s keep inspiring each other!

Loretta Milan is the founder of Literary Lightbox. She works as a professional writer and also has a novel in construction. She is a graduate of the Faber Academy and Curtis Brown Creative’s three-month novel writing programme. Her writing is fuelled by too much tea.

Inspiration every day!

This year is your last chance to enter a Glimmer Train fiction contest. There are two competitions for flash fiction and short stories currently open with prizes of up to $3,000 as well as publication. The deadline for both is 28th February: glimmertrainpressinc.submittable.com/submit... See MoreSee Less

We'll be accepting stories through May 15&comma; 2019&period; and publishing our final issue in October of 2019&excl; &lpar;See full details&period;&rpar; We happily anticipate reading like mad over the year ahead&excl; We know how much goes into writing a story you care about&period; Glimmer Train tries to set the bar for treating writers wit&period;&period;&period;

‪The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition judges are looking for original stories children will love. First prize is a publishing contract, a £10,000 advance and literary agent representation. It’s open internationally until 28th February: www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions/... See MoreSee Less

I loved writing at school - almost as much as reading&period; I went to university to study English&period; Reading the great writers made me feel I was presumptuous to want to write&comma; so I stopped - except for keeping a journal&period;&NewLine;Happily&comma; I did a correspondence Journalism course at 35 and started to write again as a freelance writer&period; I wrote magazine short stories and feature articles for newspapers and magazines&period; I knew&comma; then that I was meant to be a writer&period; &NewLine;After 15 years as a freelance writer&comma; I penned my first novel&period; Novels are what I now write&period; I’m busy with my fourth&period; &NewLine;I understand that there is a place for the contemporary novels I write&period; We can’t all aspire to write a classic or a Man Booker prizewinner&period; &NewLine;I wish I’d understood that at university&period; However&comma; I am so grateful that I took up my pen again in my 30s&period; I hope I am spared to write at least five more novels&period;

So true&period; I stated that my target market for my first novel was&colon; mature professional women&period; I had wonderful feedback from gay men&comma; some twenty-somethings and a handful of octogenarians&excl;

‪The Bristol Short Story Prize is open for entries from published and unpublished writers internationally. Submit your entry by 1st May for an opportunity to win the top prize of £1,000: www.bristolprize.co.uk... See MoreSee Less

The Berlin Writing Prize is open. Writers around the world can submit up to 3,000 words of fiction or nonfiction on the theme of “The Circus” by 30th June. The top prize includes a one-month residency in Berlin’s Circus Hotel and more. www.thereaderberlin.com/writingprize2019/... See MoreSee Less

The 2019 Berlin Writing Prize is now open for submissions&excl; Until the closing date of June 30&comma; 2019&comma; we invite entries on the theme "The Circus" from both published and unpublished writers resident anywhere in the world&period; Up for grabs is a one-month residency in a luxury apartment in one of the world'&period;&period;&period;